When I was in high school, one of my teachers had us open the cover of our Bibles. He then told us to write, “This book will keep you from sin. Sin will keep you from this book.” What a powerful message. Every time I opened my Bible, I read those words. They challenged me to read it daily so that I wouldn’t stray from God. To this day, I hear those words, even though I no longer open a physical Bible, and they challenge me.
When Moses was giving the final instructions to Israel, before they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, he gave them instructions for their future kings. In Deuteronomy 17:18-19 he said, “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees” (NLT).
God knew then that His instructions would keep us from a life of sin. He not only wanted them read daily, He wanted them to write them down too. Imagine if you had to hand write the Bible and then carry that manuscript with you daily. The time and effort that would take would cause you to value His Word more. Then reading it daily would teach you how to follow God’s path.
David, who would have written it out and carried it with him, wrote something very powerful in the longest chapter of the Bible. In Psalm 119:11 he wrote, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” David didn’t just read God’s Word, he hid it in his heart. He studied it, memorized it, and applied it. Were there times he failed? Yes. It was God’s Word that put him back in right standing with God.
He knew what you and I need to know. The more we know who God is, the more we see Him as a loving father who doesn’t expect perfection from us. He forgives our sins and loves it when we come clean. The enemy wants us to hide our sin like Adam and Eve, but God wants to create a clean heart in us. His Word will not only keep us from sin, but lead us to forgiveness when we do. Don’t let sin keep you from God’s Word. Let God’s Word keep you from sin.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 